What Are the Possible Problems Of Maintaining My App After It’s Been Built?

At SOLTECH, we often get asked about the maintenance of applications, especially, “what are the possible problems with maintaining my app after it’s been built?” After you’ve invested time and money in having something built, we understand that it is important to also invest in the maintenance to keep the application running smoothly. Below is a brief overview of questions to ask that may assist you in ensuring you sign up for the right service, therefore avoiding common problems.

What Are the Possible Problems With Maintaining My Application, After It’s Been Built?

So you’re thinking about having your application created by outsourcing the development to a custom software firm. You have an exact idea of the functions you want it to perform, the look of the design and have a well-formed budget and timeline that are both flexible, in the event something comes up during development. It sounds like you’re all set, except for one thing. Who is going to maintain the application after it has been built?

You wouldn’t buy a new home without scheduling maintenance to repair fixes, clean, landscape the lawn or paint – the same goes for launching an application. Pushing it out to the world for people to start using isn’t all it takes – you’ve got to keep up with things that may break, like the way you’d handle things in your new home!

Things to Consider to Maintain Your Application

Here are some questions to ask and things to consider to avoid problems with maintaining your application after it has been built:

Does the firm who is developing your application offer maintenance support?

If so, will you pay for monthly maintenance?

Or just a bucket of hours on an ad hoc basis?

Do you have a team of engineers that can make updates in-house?

Maintaining My App

Can I Maintain My Application Myself?

While the idea of going through tutorials online to teach yourself how to update a few minor things sounds great in theory, things can go awry quickly. This is one that is not recommended. While taking the time to learn a new skill is encouraged, it’s best to leave your valuable application to the professionals. One accidental click and you’ve erased an entire paragraph of code. Panic mode sets in and now you’re having to pay for the developers to go back in and fix what you messed up. Even if you think you know enough about software development, it’s best to stay out as much as possible. You know the phrase, “too many cooks in the kitchen?” Perhaps apply it to this situation.

My Firm Doesn’t Offer Application Maintenance Support

This does not happen often as most firms typically offer maintenance support. In the event, they do not be sure to ask them if they can refer you to a vendor that does. They likely get this question often and will be able to direct you in the right direction. From there, you will be able to set up a monthly service for support and maintenance of the application. It’ll be in trusted hands which is where it should be – always.

My Application Is Growing

One might consider this a “great problem to have” in most situations, but in one like an application, things can get tricky. You will need to plan for countless updates, improvements, and fixes, therefore you will also want to ensure that the application can become scalable. Even if your app has all the latest features and the best design, you will still receive a flood of feedback, both positive and negative. This means you’ll want to update things once users are actually using your application to provide the best possible user experience.

The best way for this is to try and predict how rapidly your application may grow. Projecting is important, especially when creating custom software. That way, this can be factored in when developing the initial application and for setting up the maintenance support.

Conclusion

Whenever possible, it is best to use the company that developed your application to also do the maintenance. They’re already familiar with your application and you have created an established relationship with the firm. You’re comfortable reaching out to them for anything you may need on the application.

Visit our Learning Center to find answers to other questions you may have about your custom software project!

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